Children's home run by Care Management Solutions Limited in Kirklees

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 1 SC423442

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Registered provider: Care Management Solutions Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager has an application in progress to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection there were three children living in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that a serious incident that occurred at the setting since the last inspection is under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspectors’ judgements.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 2 meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 3

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Outcome from the inspection

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

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Outcome from the inspection

 The children’s risks are not always understood, and their welfare is not always safeguarded.

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Outcome from the inspection

 Leaders and managers have failed to keep the children safe from harm.

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Outcome from the inspection

 Stigmatising language used by some staff has resulted in children who have been harmed feeling blamed.

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Findings from the inspection

This inspection was carried out due to a serious and significant safeguarding incident that has occurred in the home. This incident has resulted in three children suffering harm and experiencing negative consequences.

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Findings from the inspection

Children have suffered harm because of poor planning and lack of supervision they have received from the staff. Despite high staffing levels in place, two children have been left unsupervised and have spent time together, without the knowledge of staff. These two children were directly involved in a serious safeguarding incident. A third child expressed feelings of ‘stress’ due to feeling implicated in the incident.

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Findings from the inspection

Safety plans for the children have not been consistently followed by the staff. Despite one child requiring two staff to support them, there has been occasions when they have been left unsupervised. This has left all children in the home vulnerable and resulted in harm to them.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have failed in their initial response to a child when they made an allegation. Victim blaming and stigmatising language used by some staff towards the child, and in the child’s written documents, has left the child feeling unsafe and unsupported. While the manager has raised concerns with some staff members regarding their use of stigmatising language, this has not prevented the child from feeling blamed.

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Findings from the inspection

The leaders and managers have not successfully created plans that pull all key information together in relation to the risks for children and how to safeguard against these. While staff understand criminal exploitation, and they work closely with the local authority social workers and police to help reduce the risks in relation to children who may be criminally exploited. The managers’ focus on this particular risk has resulted in other serious risks being missed.

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Findings from the inspection

Some risks have been identified for some children. However, not all risks for the children have been considered. Children’s risk assessments are not consistently updated when new risks arise or increase. This has resulted in serious failings in Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 4 relation to the safeguarding of the children because safety plans have not been successful.

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Findings from the inspection

One child has had a negative experience of moving out of the home prematurely. Pre-admission planning did not thoroughly consider all available information for the child. The manager failed to consult all relevant safeguarding agencies, for example the police. This means that not all known risks were considered for the child before they moved in. Furthermore, the risks to and from the other children already living in the home were not fully considered. This response has resulted in a failure to safeguard the children.

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Findings from the inspection

One child has built a trusted relationship with the staff. The staff are supporting them to manage their emotions and feelings around loss and bereavement. However, one child feels that the staff have not supported them during a difficult time in their life. This has resulted in the child feeling let down by the staff. The staff have not yet been successful in engaging a third child in the home.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager has difficult conversations with other professionals to ensure that the children’s needs are met. The manager has been proactive in escalating her concerns to other professionals in relation to one child’s plan in, to ensure that this child receives the services that they require.

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Findings from the inspection

The staff in this home understand the value of education. One child’s education attendance has increased because of the support they have received from the staff. One child has been supported to successfully transition from primary to high school. The staff work closely with the virtual school teams and education providers to ensure that the children are supported to attend education in line with their needs.

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Findings from the inspection

The home is clean, tidy and welcoming. Since the last full inspection there has been improvements in the condition of the home. The children’s bedrooms have all been redecorated to the children’s tastes. All damage to the home has now been repaired, and the dining room and kitchen have been redecorated.

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Findings from the inspection

The leaders and managers were open and honest regarding the shortfalls. They said that, ‘They [leaders and managers] have took their eye of the ball,’ and that ‘this is not good enough for the children.’ They have clear plans in place to mitigate against the risk of future safeguarding incidents. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 5

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2023 Full Good 22/06/2022 Full Good 23/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/03/2020 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must escalate concerns to the relevant professionals when children are not provided with the opportunity for independent advocacy services. 22 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.(Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must— 22 January 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 7 ensure that the staff are safeguarding children from all known risks, included those from one another,

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the staff have the skills to respond to allegations made by children in a way that does not cause further harm, and;

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Requirement Due date

all potential risks are considered for any new children moving into the home and the risks to and from those children who already live in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 22 January 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 8 In particular the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the staff are kept up to date with all relevant information to help them to meet the needs of all the children in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that stigmatising and blaming language is not used with the children or in recordings about the children; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all leaders and managers are visible in the home, including the responsible individual. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Management Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 57 Lydgate, Lepton, Huddersfield HD8 0LT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rebecca Halliwell

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Inspectors

Jo Birtwhistle, Social Care Inspector Edward McCallum, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC423442 10 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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